London Art Fair 2011

Yes, Frieze is not the only art fair in London (but the coolest – whether this is a compliment or not, I’m not sure). London Art Fair is different – very different. It’s the first time that VernissageTV visited the fair, and apart from some impressions of the fair, we spoke with the directors of three galleries. Niklas von Bartha (Partner, Bartha Contemporary) is presenting the work of Mike Meiré, Will Lunn (Co-Director, Sumarria Lunn) has several installations by Littlewhitehad at the fair, and Debra Wilson (Co-Director, WW Gallery) talks about WW Gallery’s Art Star Superstore at London Art Fair.

German designer, creative director, curator and artist Mike Meiré is known for his editorial design projects and art/design installations such as the Farm Project and Global Street Food. In Cologne, he recently presented his installation “Back Room“. He is also responsible for the new editorial design of the renowned newspaper “Neue Züricher Zeitung” NZZ. At London Art Fair 2011, Bartha Contemporary presents artworks related to the NZZ project.

In various sites across London Art Fair, Sumarria Lunn Gallery presents sculptures and installations by Glasgow-based artists Craig Little and Blake Whitehead, known als littlewhitehead. Among others, there’s “Spam”, a life size human figure with a Darth Vader helmet; an installation under the stairs, reminding of Tracey Emin’s bed installation; and “The Struggle”, the first of a new body of work, that consists of 100 copies of Hitler’s “Mein Kampf” burned to dust and cast in a mould of an antique copy of the Bible.

London Art Fair takes place in Islington’s Business Design Centre, the former Agricultural Hall, also known as “the Aggie”. The building from 1861 was created by architect Frederick Peck. The clear span of the space was greater than both its contemporaries at the time, Crystal Palace and Alexandra Palace.

This year, the London Art Fair celebrates its 23rd year. The main section of the fair iincludes over 100 Modern British and Contemporary galleries. In addition, there’s the Art Projects section that showcases 31 UK, European and American galleries; Photo50 that presents contemporary photography; and tours, talks and discussions.

About

Founded in 2005, VernissageTV (VTV) is the Internet's unique TV art project, which covers exhibitions and events in the fields of contemporary art, design and architecture. We produce films and videos for our web series, as well as for museums, galleries, art spaces, art fairs, and art publications.